title "鼬", but this was read not as "itachi" but rather "ten", and "ten" are weasels that have reached several years of age and became yōkai that have acquired supernatural powers. In the depiction, several martens have gathered together above a ladder and created a column of fire, and one fear about them was that if martens that have gathered together in this form appear next to a house, the house would catch on fire. References Further reading Japanese Marten on Animal Diversity Nowak, Ronald M. (2005). Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. Martens Endemic mammals of Japan Mammals described in 1841